Why do we have cravings?

Cravings can be because of two reasons, either stressful situation you are dealing with or your last meal was not filling enough. So either your body is asking for comfort food, or your meal was not meeting your requirement of either taste or nutrition, or both.
What you can do is, if stress in life is making you crave then deal with your stress with a change in your attitude, not comfort food. Learn to cope with it, learn to deep breathe to help you through situations. Try turning to prayers and/or meditation to bring peace to your mind. We all have our share of stressful situations. We have negative people and situations around us. Focus on the positive aspects, on the people you love, on the things you cannot live without and also on small sources of happiness around you.
If your food is too bland or you didn't get filling feeling, then increase the portion of salads and vegetables and also try different condiments and flavours to make your food more interesting and tantalising to your pallette. Add interesting dressings to your salads. Vinaigrette dressing is healthy and weight loss friendly.
Your cravings can be for sweet or savoury. You can make your food taste according to your craving for savoury. For the sweet you can sometimes have a date and two almonds.
Having said that a couple of small bites of dark chocolate will do more good than bad, once or twice a week. Indulge!

Let us talk about something we have all tried looking for a quick fix!
The seductive fad diets!
There are a lot of fad diets that I know even doctors follow or at times recommend. I will name a few, most belong to eighties era, Hollywood diet, the egg whites and grape fruit diet, GM diet, Military diet, Dr Atkins diet, cabbage soup diet, etc.
Many of you have either tried these or have heard about them.
What makes the fad diets so appealing?
1. The promise of quick results.
2. You follow these for a limited period of time. Then you can get back to routine.
3. Your friend or family's positive experience/recommendation
4. These diets have been around for a long time, people have been using them for a long time, thirty years or so.
Science of weight/fat loss has changed/evolved totally since thirty years ago when most of you were not even born or were just babies.
Today there is more focus on fixing the metabolism and hormones, than counting calories.
I do not claim to be a know it all. Infact all my life it has been a struggle against obesity, and now I know it was because of my ignorance. Because at times with all your conventional education you fail to understand some things. Two of these that I didn't understand then are, my mother saying she has gained weight since she switched to cooking oil from desi ghee, and a cook of mine said this to me, " baji why don't you eat something?" I said because I gain weight, and he said, " You do not gain weight because of eating." I had dismissed both notions as just rantings, but I understand now they were both right and I was an ignorant person.
My mother's observation was a better informed one than the science of that time, because then the doctors suggested people to switch to vegetable oils, saying they are healthier than desi ghee, for there is no cholesterol. Coconut oil was also considered unhealthy. Eggs and egg yolks were specifically considered culprits. Today we know these are healthier and recommended by drs. Cooking oils such as corn, sunflower, canola etc are processed and cause fat/weight gain.
My cook was correct in his observation because he ate thrice or more than what I ate, and did hardly any physical labour, just cooking in the kitchen. I on the other hand played badminton daily for one hour and walked too. So what was different? Now I understand, his metabolism was naturally faster and he burnt all the calories without any physical activity.
Now coming back to my post why we should not do fad diets.
1. They slow down your metabolism!
Slower metabolism means your daily calorie requirement decreasing. Which basically means you will gain more weight even if you eat very little.
2. Mood swings
You get irritable and cranky
3. Hormone imbalance
Taking fewer calories than recommended plays havoc with your hormones, insulin, leptin, thyroid hormones, estrogen etc
Causing you to gain weight later.
4. Yo-yo weight loss and gain
Infact you end up gaining more on this yo-yo ride, because your metabolism and hormones are whacked.
5. Hair loss and skin problems/aging
Because you do not get balanced nutrition, it effects all organs
6. Low energy levels
You may not be able to work out or even carry out your routine chores.
7. A lot of quick initial weight loss is not fat loss at all, but it is just water, and muscle mass. Losing muscles means slower metabolism and low energy levels!

I have posted links to side effects of fad diets in general and particular ones separately, in the comments to this post. All I am saying is that you should be making informed decision. I cannot force anyone to do or not do something. I can only share my knowledge with you, supported by links.

So what should be done?
Eat clean and healthy with portion control, and moderate exercise. Make it your lifestyle not a short period trend.
Fix your hormones and metabolism so you keep burning calories naturally and do not store fat.

Health vs Hassle

The only problem with clean and healthy eating is that it takes effort and money both. But your and your family's health and fitness is more important. For that you can make effort. Try buying in bulk when organic is available.

I had a bigger house earlier and I kept chicken and grew my own totally organic vegetables. Sadly it is no longer possible and usually not feasible for everyone.

So what you do is the next best thing, go desi. If possible buy from someone who gets desi chicken and eggs from villages. I bought desi chicken from market and realised even that was being fed poultry feed. Then I requested someone to buy for me from villages. Desi eggs I am getting the ones available at Al Fateh.

Mutton and beef generally available in Pakistan is fine. But some people buy goats and get them slaughtered. But I just buy from shops which are hygienic and temperature is controlled.

The vegetables and fruits can be left soaked in water with 2 tablespoons vinegar to clean off pesticides. 

Use olive oil. In diet food you need just a little bit so it is feasible. 

Milk and yogurt, go for the pasteurised ones available in market such as prema, anhar or nurpur. Not the ones with shelf life such as tetra packs. They have preservatives and additives.

Avoid sugars, prepackaged products, starchy foods, avoid all artificial food.

The chemicals in food confuse your body and it stores chemical filled food as fat. Have you noticed as the food has become unnatural, obesity is on the rise. Scientists assumed initially that lifestyle has become sedentary so people have become obese but now when active people who were trying to lose weight found it difficult to do so, it was realised that there is more to this story. 

Nutritionists and doctors today are stressing more than ever on natural foods.

Make this change and see the difference in your health. Spending more money and effort on food is better than spending on medication and healthcare bills! Do you agree on the last bit?

Post on pcos! Poly cystic ovarian syndrome
I have been sharing links and writing on a common cause of weight gain as well as infertility on this forum. Due to requests repeatedly on diet for pcos I will briefly but hopefully comprehensively try to cover causes, symptoms, problems as well as management of pcos.
Causes
It is complex and not fully known that if it has actually increased or is more diagnosed now that we have knowledge about it. But the general idea is that GMOs, artificial additives in food and other chemicals that we are more exposed to may be causing an increase in number of people suffering from pcos. Some link it to being passed as hereditary as well. But reason for this syndrome are not specified.
Symptoms
Symptoms are thicker facial hair, thinning scalp hair, obesity, obesity specifically around your lower belly, not ovulating, irregular periods, infertility, and in some cases skin pigmentation. All or some of the symptoms may be showing. Doctors diagnose pcos, by looking at hormone levels in blood, and scanning the ovaries, the ovaries show multiple small balloon like cysts, which are actually the unreleased eggs. The testerone levels are raised and other hormones can or may not be elevated or less than normal ratio.
Some symptoms are similar to thyroid problem so blood work usually specifies what exactly is one suffering from.
Condition
Not ovulating
Thickened ovarian wall
Multiple unreleased eggs in ovaries
Insulin resistance
Infertility
Working of pancreas effected/ insulin resistance/ more production of insulin than required causing weight gain as all sugars/carbs are converted to fat
Pcos management
Reduce weight
Regular work out
Low carb diet
No dairy
Clean and healthy diet ( avoid all artificial colour, chemicals processed foods, GMOs, etc)
This brings your body and hormones back to natural order and the symptoms of pcos become less, as you try to counter it.
Your doctor may prescribe metformin a medicine for diabetics.
You may try some herbal remedies one I really trust is cinnamon tea
Cinnamon helps manage blood sugar levels so in turn it helps your pcos
I hope you will find this post helpful!

Workout tips that may help you break fat loss plateau

Only 3-4 days a week is plenty.
One day workout and then the next two days you skip, you may go for walk or yoga. This two day rest period is for your muscles to rest and recover from wear and tear and also for developing. When you over work your muscles your body overproduces a hormone called cortisol, it stops your body from losing fat.
In gym, do not make the mistake of doing too much cardio. doing a lot of cardio thinking you are burning calories is the wrong approach. It makes you hungrier and exhausts you. Do just enough cardio, it can be like 10-15 minutes, to get your heart rate up. I see people going on treadmill for half an hour or one hour at high speed with too much incline. It is unnecessary.
Then you do targeted training, know your muscle groups, the machines usually have pictures on them highlighting the targeted muscle groups. So you can do biceps, triceps, pectoral muscles, and shoulders one day. Don't do the same machine workout every time even at the gym. Try dumbbells, try different exercises, body weight exercises, such as bench presses etc. Because if you do the same exercises your body and muscles get used to it, even if you keep increasing the challenge by adding reps, sets and weight, still it is the same muscles you are working on.
Do your core, ie, upper and lower abs, obliques, muffin top on one day. Do your legs, inner and outer thighs/ adductors and abductors, glutes, hams, quads, knees and calves, on another. You still have one more possible day, it can be either full body workout or you can do chest and back.
Or another approach is you do full body workout every time after skipping two days but you keep changing your workout either weekly or daily.
Remember to stretch the muscles you worked at the end of each session.
Do not omit oil completely, add olive oil and at least one egg yolk in your food, good fats help you lose weight.
Add lots of leafy green vegetables to your meals they will help you lose weight.
Also start an early morning metabolism booster such as just warm water or with one or more things added such as honey, lemon, cinnamon, apple cider vinegar etc




ورزش اور کھانے کی میں تبدیلی جو آپکو ویٹ لاس پلیٹو سے نکال سکتی ہے
ویٹ لاس پلیٹو یعنی وزن کم ہونا رک جانا۔ ہم سبھی کہ ساتھ ہوتا ہے کہ کچھ عرصہ کیلئیے وزن کم ہوتے ہوتے رک جاتا ہے۔ خاص طور سے اگر دس پندرہ کلو کم ہو چکا ہو۔ ایسا اس لئیے ہوتا ہے کہ ہمارا جسم اس تبدیلی کو روکنے کی کوشش کرتا ہے۔ جسم میں فاضل چربی دراصل کسی ممکنہ قحط یا کسی اور وجہ سے خوراک کی کمی یا کمزوری کی صورت میں ہمیں زندہ رکھنے کا قدرت کا بنایا نظام ہے۔ لیکن ایسی نوبت تو آتی نہیں خوراک کی فراوانی ہی رہتی ہے۔ لیکن ہمرے جسم کا یہ قدرتی دفاٸ نظام ہمیں اس خطرے کے پیش نظر بچانے کی کوشش کرتا رہتا کہ کہیں خوراک کی کمی کی صورت میں مر نہ جائیں۔ اسی کوشش کا ایک پہلو ویٹ لاس پلیٹو ہے جب آپکا جسم آپکی بہت کوشش کے باوجود فاضل چربی کو مزید کم ہونے سے روکتا ہے۔
3-4 دن کی ورزش کافی ہوتی ہے۔
ایک دن ورزش کرئیے اور اس سے اگلے  ایک یا دو دن اپنے پٹھوں کو آرام کرنے کا وقت دیجئیے۔ ان دنوں میں آپ پیدل چلنا یا یوگا کر سکتی/سکتے ہیں۔ یہ دو دن آپ کے پٹھوں کو آرام، بننے اور ٹھیک ہونے کیلئیے درکار ہوتے ہیں۔ یعنی پٹھے مضبوط ہونگے اور بہتر کام کریں گے۔  اگر آپ رعزانہ ورزش کریں تو اس زور/stress کی وجہ سے آپکا کسم ایک ہارمون بناتا ہے، کارٹی زول جس کی وجہ سے فاضل چربی خاص طور سے پیٹ،کولہوں اور ران کی چربی، کم نہیں ہوتی۔
جمنیزیم یا جم میں بہت زیادہ کرڈیو ویسکولر ورزش یا کارڈیو یا وہ ورزش جس سے دل کی دھاڑکن تیز ہو مثلاً بھاگنا دوڑنا، اچھلنا کودنا، ایروبکس ٹریڈمل وغیرہ نہ کریں۔ ہم سوچتے ہیں کہ زیادہ کارڈیو کرنے سے زیادہ کیلوریز/حرارہ استعمال ہونگے تو ہم دبلے ہو جائینگے۔ لیکن دراصل زیادہ کارڈیو کرنے سے ہماری بھوک بھی بڑھتی ہے اور تھکن بھی ہوتی ہے۔ ٹریڈمل پر زیادہ دیر ورزش کرنا یا اس کا زیادہ انکلائن یعنی اونچاٸ پہ رکھنا قطعی غیر ضروری ہے۔ اس سے گٹنوں کو نقصان کا بھی اندیشہ ہے۔ صرف دس سے پندرہ منٹ کارڈیو کافی ہے۔
اس کے بعد آپ ٹارگٹ مسل ورک آؤٹ یعنی مختلف پٹھوں کیلئیے خاص ورزش کرئیے۔  آپ بازو کاندھے ایک دن، چھاتی، پیٹھ ایک دن اور پیٹ ایک اور دن، اور کولہوں اور رانوں کی ورزش کسی اور دن کر سکتی/سکتے ہیں۔ مشین اور باقی ورزش کے آلات بدل بدل کر ورزش کرئیے۔ ایک ہی طرح کی ورزش سے پٹھے عادی ہوجاتے ہیں اور وہ اثر کرنا بند ہو جاتی ہے۔ پٹھوں کے نام سیکھئیے تاکہ آپکو پتہ ہو کہ کونسی ورزش آپکے کن پٹھوں کو حرکت کروا رہی اور آپ دھیان کے ساتھ کر سکیں تاکہ اس کا آپکو مکمل فائدہ ہو۔
یا پھر ہر دو دن کے بعد پورے جسم کی ورزش کرئیے لیکن ورزش اور اس کو کرنے کے طریقے کو ہر ہفتے یا ہر دفعہ بدلتے رہئیے۔
اس کے علاوہ ہیلتھی فیٹس یعنی صحت افزاء چکناٸ اپنی خوراک میں شامل کرئیے۔ تھوڑا سا دیسی گھی، زیتون کا تیل، ناریل کاتیل یا مکھن اور انڈے کی زردی کم از کم ایک روزانہ (اگر آپکو ڈاکٹر نے کسی وجہ سے منع نہیں کیا ہا تو)، آپکے ہارمون کے نظام کو ٹھیک کرے گا اور وزن کم ہوگا۔
ہری پتہ دار سبزیاں یا ساگ کا کھانے میں استعمال آپکے وزن کو کم کرنے میں مدد کرتا ہے۔ (اگر آپکو ڈاکٹر نے منع نہیں کیا تو ہی استعمال کرئیے۔)
نہار منہ کوٸ بھی وزن کم کرنے میں معاون میٹابولزم بوسٹر لیجئئیے جیسے نیم گرم پانی یا اس میں کچھ اجزاء مثلاً شہد، لیموں، دارچینی، سرکہء سیب وغیرہ شامل کر کہ پیجئیے۔